


sailor's boot

by itisjosh



Series: sparks [hybrid smp] [6]
Category: Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Developing Friendships, First Meetings, Fluff and Humor, Gen, Humor, Hybrid Niki | Nihachu, Light Angst, Music, Nicknames, Phantom Hybrid Wilbur Soot, Platonic Female/Male Relationships, Platonic Relationships, References to Depression, Singing, Wilbur Soot-centric, i feel like i always have to emphasis that it's platonic, oooh there's a bit of backstory too, phantom boy & fish girl can be close w/o being romantic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-13
Updated: 2021-03-13
Packaged: 2021-03-19 03:40:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,160
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29993313
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/itisjosh/pseuds/itisjosh
Summary: Wilbur wanders out of his house every night to go and sing on the docks by a lake surrounded by forestry. He sings for himself, and likes to be there out on the docks not only because it's freeing, but also because it's nice to sing for the fish that are surely in the lake.It's nice, up until a mermaid scares the everloving shit out of him and nearly makes Wilbur have a heart attack.(or, how origins!wilbur & niki meet each other)
Relationships: Niki | Nihachu & Wilbur Soot
Series: sparks [hybrid smp] [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2157417
Comments: 6
Kudos: 144





	sailor's boot

Wilbur watches as the sun goes down, feeling his lips twist up into a smile as he sees the sky get darker with every passing second. He pushes himself off of the couch, grabbing his guitar that he's sat by his window seat, throwing it over his back so he doesn't have to actually carry it in his arms. Wilbur doesn't bother to unlock the door, opting to go invisible and reappear on the other side of it. He breathes out, shoulders slouching as he tilts his head up, feeling the wind ruffle his hair, breezing past him. Nighttime is his favourite time ever, and he thinks that it's not just because it's the only time he can go outside without having to worry about burning or draining all of his energy. Wilbur breathes out again, a soft sigh of relief when he feels the cool air blow past him, raising goosebumps onto his skin. He starts to move, listening to the dirt crunch underneath of his boots. He wanders along the pathway that he's made for himself, hands shoved in his pockets as he goes. It's been nice out for the past couple of weeks now, and Wilbur is thankful for that. Nice weather always makes him feel so much better. It helps his mood, he's noticed. 

He looks over his shoulder for a brief second, pausing his steps as he notices a light flicker in the house. Wilbur shakes his head, turning away, continuing to walk. Phil knows that he leaves every night, Phil knows that he comes back every morning, way before the sun ever starts to rise. Phil isn't going to be worried about him, Wilbur's sure of it. He makes his way into the forest that's only a few minutes away from Phil's house, breathing in the fresh night air. Wilbur listens to the leaves rustle in the breeze, a noise that he thinks he's fallen in love with. He stares at the lake ahead of him, the one with the half broken docks and crystal clear water. The lake is beautiful, it's perfect. He's never noticed any fish in the lake that sits in the middle of the forest, but he assumes that he just hasn't seen them yet. They probably hide behind the docks whenever he shows up, he thinks. It would make sense. Wilbur smiles as he wanders onto the docks, sitting down at the edge of one of them. He pulls his guitar off of his back, leaning back a little as he looks up at the sky and the stars. 

Tonight is beautiful. 

Wilbur smiles, swaying back and forth a little, listening to the wind blow, feeling it move across his skin, feeling it ruffle his hair, sending his cloak flying up around him before it settles down a second later. This entire area is gorgeous. Wilbur moves his hands down his guitar, his fingers gently gliding over the strings. He closes his eyes, listening to the sort-of waterfall splash into the lake, sending ripples throughout the whole lake. Wilbur cracks open an eye a second later, watching the water bubble down into the lake, smiling a little more. He thinks that he'd go insane if he wasn't able to go outside at least at night. Being inside all day, being in the same place all the time, it's nearly driven him to the brink of madness, he's fairly certain. Being out here is freeing, being out here makes him feel alive. It reminds him that there's far more to life than being trapped in a place where the sun can't reach him. As much as Wilbur enjoys Phil's company and doesn't mind Tommy's, it's still hard for him to be inside all of the time. It's still hard for him to have to be cramped in the same place _all_ the time. 

He plucks at the strings, listening to the sound echo throughout the forest. Wilbur hasn't come up with anything new recently, nothing that he's entirely proud of. It used to bother him when he'd go weeks, months, without creating anything new, but now, not so much. It's not nearly as demotivating as it used to be, and while Wilbur isn't entirely sure why, he's not going to complain. It's nice to not have to worry about constantly trying to prove something to himself, to the people around him. It's nice to not hate everything he creates only a few seconds of creating it. Wilbur glances up at the sky and the stars and the moon once again, watching as they sparkle and shine, dancing along the edges of his vision, twinkling brightly against the dark blue of the sky. He hums softly to himself, not entirely sure what he wants to play, what he wants to sing. Wilbur closes his eyes, listening to the forest and lake and wind, listening to the nature around him. 

Wilbur opens his mouth and sings a song he wrote when he was younger, when he was traveling throughout the Nether with his mercenary group, with a few people he'd have considered his friends. With the people who he's terrified of finding him now. Wilbur sways to his own melody and chords, not even really hearing the words that come out of his mouth. They're like second nature, both the lyrics and the chords. They're easy, they just _work_. They certainly aren't perfect - Wilbur thinks that there are a lot of things he could have done better with this particular song, but he doesn't intent on changing it. It's a part of him, and even though he sometimes wishes that it wasn't, it is, and he has to deal with it. His songs are all part of him, in some way or another. They list his history and his past, they remind him of times in his life that he'll never be able to get back. They remind him of the people he's met and those who he's lost, and ultimately, all of his songs are what make him up. No matter how much he hates some of them, no matter how much he thinks they're stupid or old or boring or just _bad_ , they're still part of him. 

Wilbur thinks that he would rather have them stick with him for the rest of his life and constantly bother him rather than to have never written them at all. Wilbur remembers times of his past where he was free, where he didn't have to worry about the constant heat of the sun or how he was supposed to deal with getting his next meal or anything like that. He remembers walking through the Nether with a Blazeborne man and a spider hybrid who seemed to be more ram than spider. They were some of his closest friends, and although Wilbur would like to think that he would kill to talk to the two of them again, he thinks that he would rather die than see either of them. Both of them probably want him dead - he knows that he has debts to pay, that he has favours owed, that he isn't supposed to be free right now, but he is. Wilbur isn't going to taunt death by actively looking for two people who he might once have been friends with. He isn't going to hunt down two men who would kill him just to get their debts paid off. 

He sighs, pausing his song as he thinks about times that have long since past. Times where he thought that he'd be happy for the rest of his life, times where he never thought that he would end up here out of all places. Wilbur doesn't mind living with an Elytrian and an Avian who can't get out of bed because of a severe injury. He really doesn't mind, it's not a bad life at all. Phil is lovely and an amazing person, and although Tommy is bitter and angry all the time, Wilbur can't seem to be mad at him for longer than an hour, if even that. Phil, as much as Wilbur really hates to admit it, has sort of become a father figure to him. Wilbur refuses to say that to his face or ever imply it, he knows that if he does, it'll make it a lot harder when his old friends start to hunt for him again. He knows that he should tell Phil about them, that he shouldn't keep pretending like he wasn't out in the sun just because he got unlucky and got caught out in the daytime. Wilbur strums his fingers down his guitar, opening his mouth again, continuing off where he stopped. 

Those are all things that he can worry about later. Wilbur doesn't have to worry about that right now. Right now, Wilbur thinks to himself as he sings, he's okay. All he has to worry about his how he's going to clean the mud off of his boots before he gets back home so Phil doesn't yell at him for tracking it into the house. Wilbur smiles as he sings, listening to the words echo throughout both his head and the forest, sounding less bitter and more accepting. Wilbur breathes out after he finishes, opening his eyes to look up at the stars again, and-

"Holy fuck!" Wilbur shouts, scrambling back, nearly throwing his guitar at the sudden appearance of what seems to be a _mermaid_. He grabs his chest, feeling his heart pound, beating against his chest so hard that he swears to god that it might actually manage to break free. "Oh my fucking god," Wilbur whispers, trying to push down the panic that he feels settling into his throat. " _Fuck_." The mermaid just looks up at him, her eyes looking guilty. 

"Sorry," the mermaid apologises, swimming back a little, holding up her hands. Wilbur notices the webbing in between her fingers, and wonders for a second if all mermaids have that. He blinks, screwing up his face as he realises that he's just sung out the hardest times of his life in front of someone, a complete _stranger_ , without even realising. Wilbur reaches up, running a hand through his hair, dragging it down his face as something similar to shame settles into his chest. Of course. "Really, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you," the mermaid tells him, sounding genuinely apologetic. "I thought you noticed me before. You have a really pretty voice." 

Wilbur laughs, ducking his head. "Thank you," he smiles, finding it a little more difficult than he thought it would be to be mad at the woman in front of him. "It's fine, I just.." he sighs, tilting back his head. "I didn't think there was anyone listening to me," Wilbur looks back down at her, quirking up an eyebrow. "Is this..your lake?" He asks, realisation settling into his stomach. If this is the mermaid's lake, if this is her home, then she's been listening to him sing for _months_ now. Wilbur groans, a pained sigh escaping his lips as cradles his head in his hands. "How long have you been listening to me sing without saying anything?" The mermaid smiles up at him, looking a little more guilty than she had beforehand. Wilbur takes that as an answer.

"A few weeks now," she admits. "I would have told you I was here, but I didn't want to scare you off," she tells him. "My name is Niki," Niki offers him a webbed hand, and Wilbur takes it, though he tries his best to avoid making eye contact with her. "You really do have a lovely voice. I'm sorry that I didn't show myself earlier. I was just.." Niki trails off, waving her other hand. "Nervous? I didn't want you to stop coming out here. I know that's selfish," she laughs, ducking her head. "I just don't really have a lot of people to talk to. It's rare that I get visitors." 

Wilbur breathes out, sighing once again because Niki is _likeable_. He can see himself very easily becoming friends with her. "I'm Wilbur," he tightens his grip on her hand, though only for another second or two before he lets go. "I..I'm glad you like my music," he murmurs, smiling gently down at the mermaid. "How long have you lived out here, Niki?" Wilbur asks, tilting his head to the side. "There's another little lake closer to where I live, if you ever wanted to come and be closer to anyone," he offers. "You really do live in a very nice part of the forest," Wilbur smiles. "Your lake is very pretty."

Niki beams up at him, her eyes sparkling in the dim lighting of the moon. "Thank you, Wilbur. I know that you might stop coming out here after I sort of.." Niki trails off, a sheepish smile working its way onto her lips. "Scared you," she laughs, ducking her had a second later. "But I really did enjoy your music and voice. I think that you're very talented, Will. I don't think I've ever heard music like yours, and it was.." Niki looks away for a few seconds, a soft smile on her face. "It was very nice."

"I don't think that I'll stop coming out," Wilbur tells her, not entirely sure why he does. If anything, he should leave this place, he shouldn't have even started to talk to her. Wilbur shouldn't have talked to Phil, either. He shouldn't have stayed at his house, at _their_ house. He should have never talked to Tommy. And yet he did, and Wilbur thinks that those were two of the most important choices of his entire life, both of which he would never, ever give up. "I think that you and I could be friends, Niki," Wilbur smiles, leaning forwards as he says the words. "I wouldn't mind having someone to talk to out here, and if you don't get visitors very often.." he trails off, shrugging. "I'm sure it would be good for both of us to talk to someone else," Wilbur pauses, blinking a few times. "Only if you want me to, of course. I can always go and fuck off, I don't mind, it's not-"

Niki laughs, interrupting his rambling before Wilbur can continue. "I would like that," she tells him, smiling. "I'd like to be friends with you, Wilbur. I think that you'd make a really good person to talk to," she beams. "How long do you have until the sun comes up?" Wilbur opens his mouth to ask her how she knows that he's a Phantom hybrid, but he figures that the green eyes and pale grey skin make up for it. Not to mention the sort of blue hair and white freckles that are scattered over the bridge of his nose. 

"A couple of hours," Wilbur sits back down, resting his guitar in his lap. He really does think that Niki could grow on him, and he thinks that she's already started. "How about we talk until then?" He offers, beaming at the mermaid. "I'd like to get to know the person whose been getting a free pass to listen to me sing about my severe loneliness," Wilbur laughs, grinning over at her. Niki grins back up at him, crossing her arms against her chest as she locks eyes with him. "Well, Niki," Wilbur beams, running his hand down the strings of his guitar. "How about you tell me about yourself, and I might just start singing again."

"Sounds like a fair enough trade for me," Niki laughs. "But I think I would like to get to know you, too, Wilbur. It only seems fair, doesn't it?" 

Wilbur smiles, feeling his heart soar. "I think that can definitely be arranged, fish girl." Niki grins at him, narrowing her eyes playfully. 

"Whatever you say, Phantom boy." He laughs at the words, and listens as Niki starts to talk. She rambles on about her life and her history, though Wilbur isn't stupid - he can tell that she's keeping most of her truths hidden by half-lies. He doesn't mind that at all, considering how he's done the same for the majority of his life, even before meeting Phil and Tommy. She talks about the people who come to visit her, though they very rarely show up, and about how he's the one consistent in her whole life. Wilbur isn't entirely sure how he feels about that, but he doesn't think that he really minds. Wilbur smiles as the mermaid talks at him for what seems to be like hours, letting Wilbur interject and ramble off about his own life and history. 

It's nice. 

They talk for so long that Wilbur barely even realises that the sun has started to rise before Niki grabs him by the hands and drags him into the water with her, her eyes huge. "You were burning," Niki tells him, her voice laced with concern. "It's dawn, Will. I think you forgot that you can't be out in the sun for very long, Phantom boy." Wilbur laughs, heaving out a sigh as he locks eyes with the mermaid before him, feeling the cool water run over his skin, numbing the pain from the fresh burn wounds that litter his arms and neck and back.

"Thank you, fish girl," Wilbur teases back, allowing himself to stay there in the water, to float in silence with a woman who he's only just met. He thinks that the more he looks at her, the more he hears her talk and laugh and make fun of him and tell jokes, the more that he thinks that they really could be friends. "I think that it might be time for me to go," Wilbur smiles, turning his head to look over at the edge of the forest, wincing when the sun starts to peek through the leaves. "You know, I think that I might have to come up with more songs if I plan on coming out here. If you plan on listening to me, of course." 

Niki grins at him, raising an eyebrow up to her hairline. "I don't mind hearing you sing the same three songs over and over again," she tells him. "Go out, Phantom boy. I'll be here until you come back." 

So Wilbur laughs, turning invisible as he drags himself out of the lake, soaking wet. He sighs, turning back to look over at Niki one last time. "Until later, fish girl." Wilbur reappears for only a second so she can see him wave, and then he's gone once again, trudging along the pathway back to Phil's house, clothes weighing him down more than he'd like to admit. And as he walks, he can't help but grin the entire time that he does, feeling like he's got a permanent bounce in his step.

Visiting the lake, Wilbur thinks, might have been his best idea yet.


End file.
